Quynh Luu farmers produce incense sticks for Tet
(Baonghean.vn) - After harvesting the raw materials, in addition to supplying tons of vetiver roots to the market, people in Quynh Thang commune (Quynh Luu) also invested in machinery to produce incense sticks to sell during Tet.
At this time, people in the mountainous commune of Quynh Thang are in the main harvest season and processing vetiver roots.
Mr. Nguyen Van Manh - a vetiver grower said that after harvesting, vetiver plants need to be pre-processed, peeled, and put into a press to dry. If the sun is clear, the vetiver roots will dry in about 2 days; at that time, farmers will package and sell them to traders.
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| Farmers in Quynh Thang commune press vetiver roots. Photo: Viet Hung |
In October, the price of vetiver roots was 28,000 VND/kg, but by mid-December, the price had increased to 32,000 VND/kg. This year, the yield of vetiver roots is equivalent to last year, from 4 tons to 4.5 tons/ha; therefore, each hectare of farmers earns 130 - 140 million VND.
The entire Quynh Thang commune currently has 260 hectares of vetiver plants, each year the output of vetiver roots is processed and supplied to the market with about more than 1,000 tons.
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| After peeling and pressing the roots, people dry them in the sun. Photo: Viet Hung |
In order to take advantage of raw material resources, many households in Quynh Thang commune have invested in buying machines and hiring workers to produce incense sticks for Tet. Thanks to the development of additional processing jobs, income for households has increased, while creating jobs for many workers.
Mr. Le Tien Son in hamlet 1 Tien Thanh is the largest incense stick producer in the commune. With 4 incense extruders and 1 incense grinder worth nearly 120 million VND, each year he processes 40 - 50 tons of incense sticks for sale on the market.
Mr. Son said that the locality produces raw materials by itself, if only pre-processing, drying and selling, the value will not be much. However, if people combine processing into products and supplying them to the market, the value will be much higher. For example, 1 hectare of dried roots sold for 32,000 VND/kg will bring in an income of 130 - 140 million VND, if processed into incense, the value will increase to 200 - 250 million VND/ha.
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| Workers pack incense sticks. Photo: Thuy Nga |
In addition to Mr. Le Tien Son's household, in hamlet 1 Tien Thanh there are about 30 households processing and producing incense sticks and agarwood, of which 5 households have invested in machines to produce incense sticks at home.
According to statistics, every year she produces more than 100 tons of incense sticks and more than 2 million incense sticks here.
Mr. Le Van Nga - Chairman of Quynh Thang Commune People's Committee said that the locality has favorable conditions to develop the incense tree. Currently, about 30% of households in the commune develop this tree, each year people earn a profit of 70 - 90 million VND/ha. Realizing the effectiveness of the incense tree, the locality is currently encouraging people to develop the profession of processing incense sticks and agarwood to increase economic value. In the near future, the commune will prepare a dossier to be recognized as a craft village for processing incense sticks right in the area.
In order to develop this incense tree, many other localities in the district such as Quynh Chau, Quynh Tan, Tan Thang... are currently planting it on a large area. Although the care time is long, the price is always stable and it is considered a crop with high economic value./.
